The first Cultural Heritage Walk, jointly organised by Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations (SFCCA) and the Committee to Promote Chinese Language Learning, was held on 2nd July 2016. The Guest of Honour, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Education & Ministry of Manpower, Ms Low Yen Ling helped to kick off the event.
More than 200 secondary school students attended the walk, injecting a fresh breath of life into the quaint Bukit Pasoh. Schools which attended the event include Ngee Ann Secondary School, CHIJ St Nicholas Girls’ School, Anderson Secondary School, Northbrooks Secondary School, Jurongville Secondary School and Yik Ching High School. 63 students from Guangyang Secondary School and 10 junior college students (including scholars from the SFCCA and students from Ngee Ann Polytechnic and Nanyang Technological University) volunteered as guides to lead the students on the three-hour cultural heritage walk. Students were split into five batches to visit five different historic attractions to get a better understanding of local culture. These attractions include the Sri Layan Sithi Vinayagar Temple, Kong Chow Wui Koon and Kong Chow Wui Koon Cultural Centre, the Pioneers Memorial Hall located on the first floor of the Ee Hoe Hean Club, Goethe Institut and the Gan Clan.
To make the walk more interactive, a variety of activities were organised for the visiting students. For instance, students visiting the Gan Clan tried their hand at calligraphy. Goethe Institut also organised a treasure hunt for the students so they could better understand German culture, while Kong Chow Wui Koon held traditional lion dance performances for the students on level three. This programme received fervent support from various organisations.
On top of this, the organising committee held a photography competition on Facebook for the students. As part of their effort to encourage students to use Chinese more often, students were required to include a short write-up in Chinese along with their picture. Results of the competition will be revealed at 5pm on 7th July 2016 via Facebook. A total of 17 students submitted their photographs, while 1437 votes in likes were collected.
